


Pink Asters 2

by Jouska_the_Deer (AngstAndAlliums)



Series: Sonic and Shadow Enjoy Some Flowers [2]
Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Breaking Up & Making Up, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Heavy Angst, Immortality, Lack of Communication, M/M, Metaphors, Mild Language, Minor Injuries, Minor Violence, death mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-10-07 04:26:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17358944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngstAndAlliums/pseuds/Jouska_the_Deer
Summary: Shadow seems to be feeling down, so Sonic decides to make him some wonderful bouquets to cheer him up. His attempts seem to have the opposite effect, though, and Sonic can't figure out why.





	Pink Asters 2

**Author's Note:**

> This is a repost from my Tumblr blog with a few grammatical fixes. 
> 
> If you'd like to read my work on my blog, you can find it here: https://jouska-the-deer.tumblr.com/post/162461252154/pink-asters-2

“Isn’t this place nice, Shadow?”

“Yes. It is.”

“I could just sit here with you for hours.”

“I doubt that. You’d get bored very quickly.”

“Hey!”

“You know I’m right.”

Sonic crossed his arms and made an overly dramatic pouty face, then slid away from Shadow on the metal bench they were sitting on. With a half chuckle, Shadow reached an arm over to Sonic, placing his hand on his waist and pulling him back by his side. Before Sonic could protest, Shadow planted his lips onto Sonic’s, causing anything he could have said to be silenced.

A small smile tinged Sonic’s lips as he and Shadow embraced, feeling each other’s warmth against the cool air of the approaching night. As their lips parted with a soft squelch, Sonic let out a content sigh. With his full attention, Shadow donned a genuine smile, filling Sonic’s entire being with happiness.

“Alright, Shads,” Sonic said as he rested his arm on Shadow’s shoulders. “You win this time.”

They both looked out at the beautiful garden surrounding them, enjoying the cool evening breeze that carried the scent of healthy flowers around the park. Shadow rested his head against Sonic’s as he looked at the pleasant scenery, bringing joy to both hedgehogs.

“I’m serious about this place being nice, though. I’m glad I found it in time to bring you here today.”

“Hmm?”

Shadow lifted his head and looked to Sonic for an explanation of why today was important.

“Are you saying you don’t know what today is?”

“It can’t be your birthday. I’m pretty sure it’s in June.”

“C'mon, Shads. It’s our two-week anniversary of being together.”

“Two-week? Don’t people usually wait a year before celebrating their time together? Two weeks is a short milestone.”

“Yeah, but it’s still something to celebrate. Plus I couldn’t celebrate our one-week anniversary because of having to fight Eggman.”

“Alright.”

Shadow looked out at the vibrant flowers ahead of them, noticing a breed he hadn’t learned about.

“Sonic?”

“Yeah, Shadow?”

“Those are carnations, right?” he said as he pointed to the frilly red flowers in front of him.

“Yeah? What about them?”

“I don’t think you’ve explained them to me yet.”

“Really? They’re pretty common in flower stores and stuff. Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Uh, Okay then. I guess I can tell you about them.”

Sonic looked at the carnations Shadow was viewing.

“Well, red ones like what you pointed at, symbolize admiration and love, like most red flowers. And White ones are innocence and pure love, again, like most white flowers.” He took a moment to think of the information behind the other variations of carnations that exist.

“Pink carnations basically mean, ‘I’ll never forget you’, and are a common flower to see around Mother’s Day.”

Shadow continued to pay attention as Sonic spoke, nodding as he absorbed all the information he was given.

“And uh, Yellow carnations are a symbol of disappointment or rejection. AKA, don’t give them to people you like.”

Shadow raised his brow in surprise.

“That’s different from most other yellow flowers…”

“Yeah. It’s not as nice as 'happiness’ or 'optimism.”

After a brief pause to think, Shadow spoke again.

“Are those the only variations that exist.”

“Oh, uh, no. There are also striped carnations. Generally, they’re a way to say, 'sorry I can’t be with you’, but they could also represent rejection or disdain.”

“Those options seem almost polar.”

“Yeah. I know.”

Sonic looked out upon the vast number of flowers surrounding him and Shadow, collecting his thoughts.

“To be honest, sometimes I make the meaning of flowers out to be more simple than it really is. Like, yellow roses here symbolize optimism and happiness, but in some other countries, they’re flowers used during funerals or given when breaking up with someone.”

“So you’re saying, it’s possible to accidentally give someone flowers with good symbolism to you, but bad symbolism to them?”

“Yeah. But, I think context helps convey meaning more than anything.”

“What do you mean?”

Sonic took his arm away from Shadow’s shoulders and shifted in his spot to be facing him more directly.

“Well, even if you give someone a bouquet that means something horrible to them, if you give it to them nicely and you both had a good relationship beforehand, I’m sure they’d understand that it was a miscommunication and not a sign that you hate them.”

“Does that mean that if someone gave another person striped carnations, the way they gave them to the other person would show if they intended to nicely say they couldn’t be together or that they feel disdain towards them?”

“Yep. That’s pretty much it.”

Shadow let out a fascinated hum, then got up from the bench.

“It’s getting late. We both should head home.”

After stretching and taking in a long breath, Sonic got off the bench and stood by Shadow.

“I know. But uh, do you think you could teleport me home? There’s something I want to give you.”

“Alright.”

“Thanks.”

Sonic walked up to Shadow and gave him a hug, and he teleported them both to Sonic’s front door.

“Cool. Just give me a sec; I’ll be right back.”

After unlocking his door, Sonic ran in and returned with a bouquet made up of pink asters mixed in with red carnations and roses.

“Heh. It’s a good thing you asked about carnations earlier, it means I won’t have to explain them to you now.”

He handed over the bouquet with a smile, waiting to see Shadow’s reaction to the nice flowers he picked out for him.

But the expression Shadow displayed didn’t seem like one of happiness, if anything, it seemed like he felt sad as he accepted the bouquet.

“Thank you,” he said as he held the flowers, not looking as happy as he had been earlier that day.

“Uh, you’re welcome,” Sonic said, feeling a little uncomfortable and confused.

Sonic was used to Shadow not showing much enthusiasm as he accepted his gifts, but he’d usually show at least some sign of enjoying them. The fact that he looked a little upset after accepting the bouquet only made Sonic feel even more uneasy. He didn’t want to say anything, though, so he decided to act as if everything was normal.

“So uh, wanna hang out again on Monday or something?” he asked.

“That sounds nice,” Shadow replied with even less enthusiasm than expected.

“Cool, I’ll meet you at your house, alright?”

“Alright.”

“Well uh, bye, Shadow.”

Sonic leaned in and shared a short kiss with Shadow before he could leave. Somehow, it didn’t feel as nice to him as it normally does.

“Goodbye, Sonic. I’ll see you Monday.”

And with that, Shadow left, leaving Sonic feeling a little unnerved.

As he continued to stand in his doorway thinking about what happened, he began to wonder if his bouquet was the reason Shadow looked a little unhappy. The way he saw it, Shadow only started to act unhappy when he handed over the flowers, so he considered that they were the reason for Shadow’s behavior. Sonic soon brushed the idea off, though, thinking there was no way his awesome arrangement could be the reason Shadow was unhappy. He figured something else made him sad, and he just didn’t show it until he got the flowers. Still though, if he was unhappy, Sonic couldn’t let that stand.

Sonic stepped back into his house and began thinking about what flowers to give Shadow to make him feel happy again. He was going to make sure it was a bouquet that could put a smile on anyone’s face, no matter how sad they were.

 

Monday afternoon brought pleasantly warm weather with few clouds in the sky. It was a perfect day for cheering someone up, something Sonic was grateful for, as that was exactly what he was planning.

He stepped up to Shadow’s front door, knocking with his left hand and holding a bouquet of flowers behind his back with his right. Shadow still looked a little upset as he answered the door, but that didn’t matter to Sonic. Today, Sonic was going to improve Shadow’s mood and everything would be okay again.

“Hello, Sonic.”

“Hey, Shadow! Look what I got ya!”

Sonic presented Shadow a vibrant bouquet of flowers. The message was a simple one of cheeriness and joy, but the bouquet itself was complex and elegant in structure. Once again, Sonic waited to see a happy look on Shadow’s face, or at least, his usual act of trying to hide a smile. But, the expression he wore was not one of concealed joy. Instead, it looked like one of concealed sorrow, even more than last time as well.

“Thank you. I’ll find a place to put these, then we can go.”

“Uh, cool. Want me to help you look for a vase or something?”

“No. I’ll find one myself. It won’t take long.”

Shadow shut the door and disappeared into his house for a minute, then came back.

“Alright. Let’s go,” Shadow said with less enthusiasm in his voice than usual, which was saying a lot.  

“Uh, just follow me. Like always.”

As Sonic brought Shadow to the destination, he continued to ponder what was wrong with him. Sure he wasn’t usually Mr sunshine and rainbows, but he still always looked somewhat happy when getting flowers. Last Friday and today, he just looked sad to receive them. Again, Sonic wondered if his bouquets were the problem, and again, he brushed the thought off. If Shadow didn’t like the flowers, he’d tell him, right?

The sight of a familiar field of daisies surrounded them as Sonic brought Shadow into the relaxing spot. Sonic slowed to a stop in the center of the field, receiving a confused look from Shadow.

“Haven’t we already been here before?” he asked.

“Well, I come here to relax, and I thought, why not come here to relax with you? It is a pretty nice day out, so I thought it would be fun.”

Sonic sat down and made himself comfortable among the flowers, then pat the ground next to him, waiting for Shadow to sit by his side. Shadow soon sat next to Sonic, being instantly surprised by his embrace. He soon gave into Sonic’s comfort, hugging back and letting out a content sigh. When they both leaned back to see each other’s expressions, Sonic was relieved to see a smile on Shadow’s face.

With a content sigh, Sonic let himself fall to his back, looking up into the clouds. Shadow slowly let himself lay beside Sonic, holding his hand as they began to relax. Everything felt okay again, and so Sonic let his mind finally be at ease.

“You know,” Sonic began, “I may have said I could sit in the garden with you for hours, but, I think that I could really lay here with you for hours.” Sonic blushed at his own words, not used to saying anything like that. “Heck, I think I would stay here with you forever if I could.”

Shadow let out a barely audible whine of discomfort, looking away from Sonic.

“Huh?”

He viewed Shadow’s behavior with confusion, wondering what suddenly made him feel uncomfortable. After taking a moment to comb over his words in his mind, Sonic realized what happened.

“Oh uh, sorry, Shadow. I didn’t mean to make you think about the whole immortal thing…”

“It’s fine.”

“Seriously, I’m really so-”

“Just, stop talking about it, alright.”

“Okay…”

The subject of Shadow’s immortality was only discussed once between Sonic and him, as it was something Shadow was not too fond of thinking about. Shadow allowed Sonic to know he was dreading the days he would outlive his friends, though that was about as long as the conversation lasted. Their discussion ended with them both agreeing not to bring up his immortality for a while. How long, neither of them decided. Sonic didn’t think it was healthy for him to just ignore the subject, but with how many horrible things Sonic lived through that he never talked about, he figured it wasn’t his place to argue about it.

For a long moment, nothing but the gentle breeze against the field of daisies was heard in the air. Sonic felt immense dread as Shadow appeared to be sad once again. Shadow wasn’t even holding hands with him anymore. This time, Sonic knew his discomfort was his fault, and he knew he had to do something about it. Quickly, Sonic sat up and looked to Shadow.

“Hey, want to make daisy chains? It’s a great way to relax.”

Sonic wore a smile, though it was a fake one. He hoped his optimism could at least cheer up Shadow a little, but it didn’t appear to be working.

“No. I’m fine lying here.”

“Oh uh, that’s cool. I’ll uh, just keep lying down too.”

A short flash of pain was felt in Sonic’s stomach, something he only felt when one of his friends was truly upset. The only difference was, Sonic had no clue what to do right now. Shadow wasn’t one for talking about what was wrong, and Sonic wasn’t great with asking what was wrong. Sure, he made a good person to talk to when sad, but that was only if the other person was someone who would talk in the first place. For now, all Sonic could think to do was find a way to make Shadow happy again.

The rest of their time together that day consisted of more silence, but neither of them was relaxed. Sonic could see the entire time that Shadow wasn’t having a good time, and decided that they should leave early. He ran to Shadow’s home with him and thought about what to do on their way there.

Once they were to his door, Shadow unlocked the door and stepped inside, turning around to say goodbye.

“Goodbye, Sonic.”

“Yeah. Uh, goodbye, Shadow.”

Sonic leaned in for a kiss, which Shadow briefly returned. It was only a small peck on the lips, with no emotion whatsoever. The lack of passion really made Sonic feel terrible, but he continued to wear a fake smile.

“Uh, later,” he said as Shadow closed the door.

The return home was lonely to Sonic. Sure, he just saw Shadow, but it wasn’t the same as it had been before. It wasn’t any fun to see him if he wasn’t happy. Shadow was just looking so unhappy lately, that Sonic started to feel the emotion rub off on himself. And now that he thought about it, Shadow didn’t give him any bouquets in a while.

Sonic quickly wiped his sad thoughts from his mind, instead focusing on how to make things better again. Their three-week anniversary of being together was on Friday, and he was going to make that day extra special to make Shadow feel better. He’d meet him at his door with a bouquet even more beautiful than the one he gave him today, then bring him to a garden so amazing he would feel happier than ever before.

With a determined grin, Sonic dashed off to his house, ready to prepare for the best day of Shadow’s life.

 

With a smile, Sonic stepped up to Shadow’s front door, ready to put a smile on his face. He gave the door a few knocks, waiting to see Shadow open the door, accept the bouquet he made him, and feel better.

Sonic continued to stand for a brief moment, but Shadow didn’t answer. He had to be home, right? There was nothing he could possibly have to do on a Friday evening. Maybe he didn’t hear him? But Shadow had great hearing. Just in case, Sonic gave the door a few more knocks.

More silence was heard as Sonic continued to wait at the door. Shadow still wasn’t answering. Maybe he was actually not home, and Sonic was knocking for nothing? Sonic considered pounding on the door to make sure, but he knew Shadow hated it when he did that. He was about to turn and leave when the door finally opened.

“Sonic?”

“Hey, Shadow!” Sonic said with much enthusiasm.

“What are you doing here?”

Shadow’s mood seemed to be even worse from when Sonic last saw him. But, with the evening Sonic had planned, that wasn’t going to stay true for long.

“It’s our three-week anniversary of being a couple! I thought I’d take you someplace awesome!”

“Three weeks sounds very arbitrary to me…”

“Yeah, uh, I guess it kinda is…” Sonic let out a nervous chuckle, then remembered the bouquet.

“Oh! Shadow, I also made ya this!”

With a hopeful smile, Sonic lifted an incredible bouquet of flowers into Shadow’s view. It was very well put together and more beautiful than the last. As always, the flowers were healthy and vibrant, and the time and effort were visible in its complexity. There was no way Shadow couldn’t be happy after seeing it. But, his expression said something different. He seemed to be feeling even worse than before.

“Sorry, Sonic. I, uh, don’t have a vase for it.”

'Don’t have a vase’? Sonic knew for sure Shadow owned a ton of vases. How could they all have been used? The smile Sonic wore faded a small amount thinking about it, but he still tried to retain his cheery composure.

“That, that’s fine. I can always make you another bouquet later.”

They both stood still for a silent moment, then Shadow spoke.

“Sonic, I can’t go with you today.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I’m, uh, busy.”

It sounded like a lie to Sonic. What could he possibly be busy with? He didn’t want to start anything with him, though, so he acted like everything was fine.

“Oh, uh, that’s okay. We could always hang out another time.”

Shadow was silent, his face hiding sorrow only Sonic could see. He wanted to do something but didn’t know what he could do.

“Well uh, bye, Shadow…”

Sonic leaned in for a kiss, but his lips only met the air as Shadow backed into his house. He quickly stood up straight, acting like nothing just happened.

“…Bye, Sonic.”

The door slowly closed, leaving Sonic standing alone by the front door. He stepped away, then began running home, trying to piece together everything that was happening.

When did Shadow start looking sad? It was after he gave him the bouquet on their two-week anniversary. Does that mean the bouquet made him upset? It couldn’t be. He loved receiving flowers and would have said if they made him upset, right? But what if they were the reason he was sad? That was ridiculous, how could the flowers he received have made him sad? But he did look sad after getting them. Maybe it was because of another reason. But what could it be?

Sonic’s thoughts were interrupted as he heard his communicator go off. It appeared that someone was calling him, so he slowed to a stop and tapped the device to hear who it was.

“Hello?”

“Sonic, it’s you, right?”

“Yeah. Rouge?”

“Yes. Would you happen to be with Shadow right now?”

“No, but uh, I just saw him. Is something wrong?”

“No, well, actually, I don’t know. I was calling to ask you.”

“What do you mean?”

Sonic sat down on the grass and he continued to listen. Rouge’s voice sounded urgent and full of concern, a jarring departure from her usual attitude.

“Well, Shadow hasn’t hung out with me much in the past few weeks, and I’m starting to worry about him.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. So, how was Shadow when you saw him?”

“He was fine. Well, I think he’s sad about something, but I don’t know what.”

“You haven’t asked him?”

“Uh, no…”

“Why don’t you? Aren’t you worried about him too?”

“Yeah, but, I don’t know how to ask him what’s up.”

“Just talk to him.  I’m sure he’d tell you.”

“Yeah, but, how do I know if he’ll even talk to me?”

“There’s only one way to find out.”

A wave of dread came over Sonic as he thought about how badly trying to get Shadow to talk about his feelings would go.

“Can’t you talk to him?”

“Why do you think I called you? I can’t get ahold of him by phone, he won’t answer his door, and GUN hasn’t assigned us together for a while. You were my last option before breaking into his house to figure out what happened. I’d talk to him if I could.”

“Oh…”

“Please, just talk to him for me. I know it might be difficult, but I’d hate to think of what would happen if he didn’t talk to anybody.”

Sonic let out a sigh. He knew Rouge would be right about it being difficult.

“Alright. I’ll try talking to him.”

“Thank you, Sonic.”

“No problem, Rouge. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Goodbye.”

Sonic tapped his communicator and ended the call, then got back onto his feet.

Whatever was bothering Shadow seemed really important, important enough to make him want to stop spending time with his best friend.

As Sonic began running to his house again, he contemplated his next course of action. He knew he couldn’t go back and speak to Shadow now since he was apparently “busy”. Sonic figured he’d have to plan something with him in order to make sure he wasn’t “busy” when they were supposed to hang out.

Next, he had to think of a reason to meet him. Their one-month anniversary was next Friday, which gave them a good reason to meet. One month was also much less arbitrary sounding than three weeks as well, meaning Shadow couldn’t argue with him there. Sonic figured he could get him to agree to dinner or something. That was something that seemed common for anniversaries.

Finally, there was still the fact that Shadow was sad, something Sonic wasn’t even close to tolerating. With nothing else he could think to do, Sonic decided he would make another bouquet of flowers for him. But not just any bouquet of flowers, it was going to be the most incredible bouquet that he has ever made, no, that anyone has ever made. It would include the most beautiful, vibrant, and lively flowers that anyone could get their hands on. It might make him so happy, he wouldn’t even need to make him talk about his feelings!

Sonic arrived at his house and ran inside with determination, heading straight to his computer and booting it up. He needed to research everything. He needed to find a good restaurant that was neither too casual nor too formal, and what flowers would be perfect in the bouquet and where to get them. He then jumped, realizing he forgot the most important part.

Quickly, Sonic tapped his communicator to call Shadow, hoping to get ahold of him as soon as possible. Everything would be for nothing if Shadow didn’t even agree to see him.

It rang. And it rang more. It continued to ring. Sonic became extremely nervous. He then let out a sigh of relief as he heard Shadow’s voice on the other end.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Shadow. Uh, I was just wondering, would you like to maybe, have dinner next Friday? You know, celebrate being together for a month. A lot of people actually do that.”

“Oh, uh, sure.”

“Cool. I’ll meet you at your place at around six, alright?”

“Alright.”

“Sweet! Well, I’ll see you then, Shadow!”

“Okay. Goodbye.”

“Bye Shadow!”

Sonic giggled in joy, then began searching for everything he needed. Next week, he was going to make Shadow happy again. He was sure of it. He wasn’t going to fail this time. He could just feel it. Shadow is going to feel better.

 

That next Friday, Sonic got up with the sun, waking extra early to get everything prepared. He needed to give himself enough time to acquire the flowers and bring them home without running fast enough to damage them. And after all of that, he still needed to prepare the flowers and arrange them. He was going to make sure they were perfect.

Once he had all the flowers, they were all individually inspected and washed. All the roses had their thorns manually removed and every flower was checked twice before it was set aside to go into the bouquet. His efforts took many hours, but Sonic only cared about the end product. After everything was finally put together, Sonic looked over his work, checking it one last time before he’d present it to Shadow.

Every single flower was beautiful, each one showing the painstaking hours of work that went into their perfection. The bouquet was made up of layers of vibrant and healthy flowers, with the center of the bouquet being made up of pink asters. It was certainly the best bouquet Sonic had ever made, and not to pat himself on the back, but he hadn’t ever seen a bouquet as awesome as it ever. Sure it cost him a bit of money to buy the flowers he could pick himself, and he may have needed a few band-aids for all the times he accidentally pricked his fingers on rose thorns, but he found the immense effort to have been worth it. He knew Shadow would love it.

Plus, if Shadow didn’t have any vases, that wouldn’t matter. While he was out buying flowers, Sonic also found a beautiful white plastic vase with a red floral design that the flowers could go in. It may not have been as fancy as the bouquet, but it still looked pretty nice.

Sonic tied the flowers together with an elegant ribbon, then set the bouquet inside the empty vase on his living room coffee table. Sonic’s plan was to carefully run to Shadow’s house with the bouquet, give it to him and make him the happiest anyone has ever felt ever, then bring him to dinner where they would eat and be happy together, and maybe kiss a bunch of times. In Sonic’s head, that sounded like the perfect plan. There was no possible way it could possibly fail, at all.

After looking the flowers over yet another time, Sonic quickly ran to his bedroom to put on a fresh pair of gloves, then came back to his living room to collect the bouquet and vase. He was ready to grab everything and leave when he heard a knock at his door. Curious, Sonic ran over to see who it was. He opened the door, seeing a face he definitely wasn’t expecting to see at his house right now.

“Shadow? What are you doing here? I thought I said I’d meet you at your house at six?”

“It’s almost seven.”

“…What?”

Sonic looked at the clock on his communicator, which read 6:47.

“Oh geez! I’m really sorry Shads!”

In his effort to make the best bouquet ever, he somehow forgot to check the time. To say Sonic felt horrible about it would be an understatement.

“What could you have possibly been doing to forget about it?”

Sonic’s first plan obviously wasn’t going to work, so in a panic, he quickly created another one.

“I was uh, uh, I was making you this!”

In a flash, Sonic ran to his living room to grab the bouquet. He returned with it carefully, then held it up into Shadow’s sight and gave him a bright smile.  

“I spent a while on it, but I think it was worth it. It looks awesome, right? Look, it’s even got a vase if you don’t have one!”

Sonic waited for Shadow’s reaction. A smile. A laugh of joy. Some sign he was so much happier than he was before. But, as he looked at the bouquet, his expression only showed more sorrow. It was like the bouquet was bringing him direct pain. Sonic lowered the flowers, looking into Shadow’s eyes.

“Shadow?” he asked in confusion. The bouquet was amazing, right? Why wasn’t he happier?

Looking down by Shadow’s side, Sonic saw a bouquet in his hand. It was a simple bouquet, of striped carnations.

“Shadow?”

Following Sonic’s eyes with his own, Shadow realized Sonic had seen the flowers he brought. He stood in silence, a pained look on his face.

“Are you, b-breaking up with me?”

Shadow squeezed his eyes shut and looked away, then teleported out of Sonic’s sight.

The air grew silent with nothing but a passing breeze as Sonic stood heartbroken in his doorway. He let what happened run through his head, then stepped back into his house, closing the door with a soft click. He slowly walked to his living room and set the bouquet on the coffee table, then walked to his couch.

He sat on the middle cushion among the piles of stems and rose thorns that were left over from his day of arranging the bouquet. Everything was quiet apart from the shaky breath of Sonic, who didn’t know what to do.

“M-Maybe he wasn’t dumping me?” he asked himself. “No,” he replied to himself. “He looked like he was, and, I told him about carnations a couple weeks ago…”

Sonic looked at the beautiful bouquet and the small piles of thorns and stem pieces around him, remembering all the hard work he put into it. He growled to himself.

“Dammit, Shadow! I do all this work, and for what?! Just so you can dump me?! All of this was for nothing!”

With an enraged scream, Sonic brought a fist down onto the coffee table, hitting its sturdy wooden surface. His hand immediately recoiled and he hissed in pain, both from the hard impact and from hitting a spot that got pricked by a rose thorn earlier. He lightly held onto the sore hand and sat back into the couch, trying to calm himself. Again, he looked at the flowers, an idea finding its way into his head.

“M-Maybe if I make an even better bouquet, he’ll want to be with me again!” he said with a growing smile while sitting up in his seat. “Two for one, right? We get back together, and he’s happy again!”

As he continued to think about it, though, he realized the multiple flaws in his plan.

“What am I saying? That’s a stupid idea…” Sonic’s smile faded and he fell back into the couch. “Every time I’ve tried giving him something better, he just got more upset… I’m the reason he was upset in the first place. My bouquets aren’t making him happier, they're just making him feel worse.” He once again looked to the bouquet, looking it over in confusion. “I, I just don’t know why…”

Upon closer inspection, Sonic noticed something that he didn’t even think about before.

“Oh, that explains it.” Sonic leaned in to view the flowers more closely. “Yeah, look at that, the length of the petals aren’t the same on all the asters…” He continued to comb over the flowers with his eyes, pointing out all the flaws he could find. “And, their diameters aren’t all the same either.” He looked the flowers up and down, finding more to point out. “And, and the stems are all different widths.”

Sonic stood up, taking the entire bouquet into view.

“It’s all terrible. No wonder why Shadow hated it. Why did I even think this looked good at all?”

He remembered back to the other bouquets he had given Shadow in the past weeks, thinking back on them with disgust. “They were all horrible. They just kept getting worse. I just kept making him feel worse with them…” He looked over at the incredibly beautiful bouquet sitting on the coffee table. “And that one was just a big kick while Shadow was already down. He probably hates me by now…”

With a shaky breath, Sonic started walking out of his house, locking the door on his way out.

“I need to apologize for all this, and then leave him alone. No more flowers. No more trying to cheer him up. The only way he’s gonna be happy is if I say sorry and then leave him be.”

With a burst of speed, Sonic took off to see Shadow. He wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible so Shadow could be happy again.

 

Sonic arrived at Shadow’s house a little after seven PM, walking up to the door and thinking for a for a few moments. He considered the possibility that Shadow didn’t want to see him at all right now, and that an apology wouldn’t help much. Sonic then shook his head at the idea. He still had to say sorry. It was the right thing to do.

He gave the door a few knocks and waited for a response. After about ten long seconds of nothing, Sonic raised his hand to knock again but halted his movement before he hit the door. Sonic slowly brought his hand back to his side and looked down in shame. 'It’s obvious Shadow wouldn’t answer the door,’ he thought to himself, 'not after everything I did to make him feel bad. I should just leave him alone.’

With a sigh, Sonic turned around and began walking away. He wasn’t going to make things worse. Not this time. Not ever again.

“Sonic?”

He turned his head, seeing Shadow standing in the doorway.

“Oh, Shadow. Uh, don’t worry, I’m just leaving.”

Sonic began to walk away again but stopped when Shadow continued speaking.

“Why are you here?”

He turned to face Shadow.

“I, I just came to apologize. But, I know you just want to be left alone. I’ll just leave.”

“Apologize? For what?”

Shadow looked genuinely confused and heartbroken. Sonic didn’t understand why he was confused, but he figured he’d say something.

“Well, for everything.”

Sonic took a few steps closer, donning a fake smile, more for his own sanity than for Shadow’s mood.

“I planned us a nice dinner, forgot about it, then tried giving you a terrible bouquet, all while you were already feeling bad.”

“…What?”

After taking a few seconds to think, Sonic tried explaining what he thought he had to.

“I knew you weren’t feeling great, but I didn’t know why. I just thought giving you nice bouquets would help cheer you up, I didn’t think they were the reason you were sad.” He looked away in shame. “I just kept giving you worse and worse flowers. It’s no wonder why you hate me now, after how I’ve been treating you.” Sonic let out a breathy, nervous laugh. “Man, I’m such an idiot.”

Shadow froze in horror as Sonic’s words entered his head. He didn’t know what to do.

“Oh, geez. I just keep screwing up. Just look at me, standing here and talking when you want me to leave. I’m really sorry, Shadow. I’ll just go now.”

Sonic turned to leave.

“Stop.”

Shadow’s voice was urgent, and Sonic stood still upon hearing the command. He didn’t know what Shadow wanted but knew he wouldn’t be happy if he didn’t do what he said.

Sonic heard Shadow take a few steps closer, stopping right behind him. Next, he felt Shadow place his hand on his shoulder, pulling him to turn around. As Sonic came to a stop facing Shadow, he turned his head and braced himself for a punch, figuring that was the only thing Shadow could want right now. That punch never came, instead, Sonic felt Shadow’s comforting embrace.

“Sonic, you are not the reason I have been upset, your bouquets have been getting better, not worse, and I don’t hate you.”

With a sigh, Sonic tried nudging Shadow away from him, despite how much he loved how he held him.

“You don’t need to lie to me,” he said, taking a step back. “It’s pretty obvious I’ve been getting worse at arranging flowers.” After letting out another sigh, Sonic looked away. “I saw how you looked at the one I made today. I know it was awful too. Anyone would hate me for trying to give them a bouquet like that…”

“What, are you, talking about?”

Sonic looked to Shadow with a sad and confused look.

“Well, you saw it too, right? The asters weren’t the same in diameter or petal length, the width on a ton of the stems was uneven, the-”

“Shut up.”

Pausing, Sonic hoped Shadow wasn’t too mad at him for the bouquet.

“Flower diameter? Stem width?! Have you lost your mind!? You created the most beautiful flower arrangement I have ever seen, and you’re complaining about how wide the stems are?!!”

“W-What? 'Most beautiful’? But it looked awful…”

Shadow once again stepped up to Sonic, pulling him into another hug. He just held him, and Sonic couldn’t figure out why. Soon, Sonic couldn’t resist the comfort Shadow was offering, and returned the embrace, shutting his eyes and allowing himself to relax slightly. Shadow quietly let out a whine and spoke uneasily.

“What have I done to you?”

“What do you mean? You haven’t done anything. Everything is my-”

“Shut up, now!”

“…”

Shadow held him a little tighter.

“You don’t second guess yourself, you don’t over analyze small details,” Shadow let out a small growl, “and you don’t give a crap about things as idiotic as stem width!”

“Shadow, I’m sorry. I just thought-”

“Quiet!”

Feeling guilty from yelling at Sonic again, Shadow took a breath to calm down before speaking again.

“You’re delusional if you really think your bouquets have gotten worse, or if you think I hate you.”

Sonic leaned back a small amount to look at Shadow.

“But then, why have you been so sad lately? And why have my bouquets only made you feel worse? Sonic gently pushed Shadow away and took a step back, looking down in sadness, "And, why don’t you want to be with me anymore?”

Seeing the depressed behavior Sonic was displaying, Shadow knew he owed Sonic some sort of explanation for everything, no matter how much he didn’t want to talk about it. He let out a sigh and stepped to his front door.

“Come with me,” he said, opening the door and waiting for Sonic.

Sonic looked up and started walking toward him.

“Uh, alright.”

When Shadow stepped into the house, so did Sonic, staying close behind to follow wherever they were going. As Sonic saw inside the house, he noticed all the bouquets he had given Shadow were still there, in their vases, many of them being over a month old. They were all wilted and nearly colorless, the vases were filled with murky water, and the scent of dead vegetation could be smelled throughout the home. The fact Shadow still had all of his bouquets was very concerning now, but Sonic didn’t say anything about it.

Continuing to follow Shadow, Sonic was lead into the kitchen, noticing the bouquet of striped carnations sitting by the edge of the kitchen counters. Shadow stopped moving once he reached the kitchen table, letting out a shaky sigh. Sonic stopped behind Shadow, looking past him at whatever was making him upset.

The bouquet of pink asters and roses he gave Shadow a month ago was still there, sitting on the table in the same cheap clear vase, barely moved from its spot in the center of the table. The petals were wilted, though, not to the extent of all the other flowers in the house. It was still a sad sight to see, and they should have been thrown away a while ago.

“It’s wilted,” Shadow quietly said.

“Well, yeah. That’s what happens to flowers after a while.”

“I know, but…”

Shadow took in a breath and released it slowly.

“I’ve been trying my best to keep it alive since you gave it to me. I’ve looked through countless books and websites trying to find a way to stop the bouquet from wilting, but they all contradict each other. And the more time I spent looking for something to help, the worse the bouquet’s condition got.” Shadow looked down at the table, letting out a sigh. “I’ve done everything in my power to stop it from wilting, but it was all for nothing…”

Sonic looked at him in concern.

“All for nothing?”

He walked over to Shadow’s side to face him more directly.

“You’ve somehow managed to keep that bouquet from completely wilting for an entire month. Honestly, I can’t even keep flowers from completely wilting for even a couple weeks. How was it all for nothing when you’ve maintained this bouquet for so long?”

Shadow viewed the bouquet, then turned his gaze to Sonic.

“It’s still almost completely dead.”

“That doesn’t matter. Just look at how long you’ve had it. With all the care you put into keeping those flowers, you’ve been able to enjoy that bouquet longer than anyone else would’ve been able to.”

Letting out a sharp breath, Shadow placed his hands flat on the table and looked down.

“But, I just don’t see the point.”

“What do you mean?”

His response took a while, but Shadow continued.

“I put so much work into making sure these bouquets I get last as long as possible, but they’re all going to die anyway. So, if they’re all going to die, what’s the point of keeping them? What’s the point of accepting new ones?” Shadow closed his eyes as his forehead lowered to the table. “Every new bouquet I get is just another one I have to watch wilt away. If keeping them means I have to watch them die, why should I keep them at all?”

After a short sniff, Shadow wiped his eyes with his hand. Sonic looked at him with concern.

“Shadow, are you, crying?”

“No!”

Shadow pushed himself off the table and turned away from Sonic, crossing his arms and standing tall.

“I wouldn’t cry over something as stupid as a few dead bouquets!”

Sonic stood in silence, looking around Shadows kitchen and out to the living room. After connecting the pieces in his head, Sonic stepped up to Shadow, speaking in a calm and genuine tone.

“You keep them because they make you happy,” he said while resting a hand on Shadow’s shoulder. “And, while they may not last forever, they still bring a smile to your face while they’re around. Plus, you’re always getting new ones that will keep you happy too.”

Pausing for a brief moment, Sonic looked into the living room at the severely wilted bouquets sitting on all the available shelves. “I know it’s sad seeing the ones you enjoyed go,” he looked over to the bouquet on the kitchen table, “especially the ones you love the most,” he then looked back to Shadow, who was still turned away, “but what’s most important is that they made you happy while they were still around.”

Shadow let out a shaky breath, wiped his eyes, and slowly turned to Sonic. He looked into Sonic’s eyes, seeing his compassion and understanding.

“So, I guess, enjoy them while you have them. Alright?”

A faint smile was given to Sonic as Shadow heard his words, warming Sonic’s heart and allowing him to feel some relief. After wiping his eyes a final time, Shadow stepped up to Sonic and cradled his cheek with his hand, then shared with him a soft and caring kiss. They embraced and pulled each other closer, feeling the love they wanted to give each other for almost two weeks. As their lips parted and they leaned back to see each other, Shadow’s smile grew to match his genuine happiness and relief.

“I love you,” he said, pulling Sonic closer and leaning into their embrace.

While they had always known they loved each other, the words were never spoken between them, always shared through flowers instead. Sonic smiled, as Shadow’s words touched him more than a bouquet of flowers ever could.

“I love you too, Shadow.”

They gave each other a gentle squeeze, then leaned in for another kiss. Before their lips could meet, Sonic’s stomach let out a loud growl.

“Oh uh, sorry about that. I uh, kinda haven’t eaten all day…”

“It’s fine.”

“Hey, uh, if you haven’t eaten yet, would you still like to go have dinner with me?”

“I haven’t eaten. I’ll go with you.”

“Cool.”

Their embrace ended and Sonic walked over to the front door. Shadow stood still, looking at the striped carnations on the counter.

“You ready to go?” he heard Sonic say from the entryway.

Shadow stepped up to the counter, wiping the carnations off and into the garbage can beside it.

“Yes. I’m ready.”

He walked to the front door to meet with Sonic.

“Then let’s go. I’m starving.”

Sonic stepped out and waited for Shadow to lock the door, then began running with him to the restaurant. Their pace was equal, running side by side and exchanging the occasional joy filled glance. They were happy together. They were going to be happy together for a long time.

 

Sonic and Shadow stood in the entryway of Shadow’s house, looking into the house at the countless bouquets of dead flowers. Shadow looked at Sonic, who was carrying the bouquet he made for him earlier that day. The discomfort Shadow felt was apparent to Sonic, so he offered a reassuring smile.

“It’s alright, Shadow. I’ll help you out, okay?”

Shadow let out a sigh and turned to look at the dead flowers, nodding and stepping forward.

The task was going to be daunting, but it had to be done. Every old bouquet had to be thrown, and each vase had to be cleaned.

After taking another glance around the house, Sonic set the lively bouquet and vase on Shadow’s coffee table. Shadow was staring at a severely wilted bouquet. He let out a sigh as Sonic walked to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“How about this, you throw the flowers, and I’ll clean the vases?”

Shadow took in a slow, deep breath, and released it.

“Alright.”

“I’ll be in the kitchen then. But uh, you got a pair of waterproof gloves I can wear? I’m kinda wearing a few band-aids I don’t want to get wet.”

“Under the sink. There’s a long-handled scrub brush there too.”

“Cool. Thanks.”

Shadow grabbed the wilted bouquet and dirty vase he was looking at and followed Sonic into the kitchen. He stood by the garbage can with him, slowly removing the flowers and throwing them away, then handing the vase over to Sonic so it could be washed. After that, they temporarily parted ways so Shadow could grab another flower arrangement and Sonic could wash the vase.

The pace at which Shadow threw away the flowers was slightly faster than Sonic could wash out each vase, so he began setting the vases beside the sink. As he continued to throw away all of the old flowers, the job felt a little easier. Sure he still felt a little sad each time another dead bouquet went into the trash, but he had to throw them eventually. Once Shadow was done throwing away the dead flowers from every other room, he stood in the kitchen, staring at the bouquet on the kitchen table.

That bouquet meant so much to him. Sonic gave it to him just before they got together. It showed so much love and thought, Shadow couldn’t even think about throwing it.

Sonic glanced over his shoulder, seeing Shadow’s dilemma. He let out a sigh, then gently smiled as an idea popped into his head.

“Hey, Shadow? When was the last time you called Rouge? Maybe she’d like to talk to you and stuff.”

Shadow turned to look at Sonic, displaying a little temporary relief.

“It has been a while. I’ll go call her now.”

“Cool. I’ll be in here washing vases for a little longer if you need anything.”

Shadow stepped into his living room and leaned against a wall, tapping his communicator and calling Rouge.

Sonic listened to Shadow’s conversation as he caught up on all the vases he had to wash, letting out a yawn every once in a while since it was getting late.

“Shadow? Is that really you?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

“Oh thank goodness! I was worried sick about you! Where have you been all this time?”

“At home.”

“But then, you just didn’t answer your door?”

“No. I apologize for that. I should have let you talk to me.”

“It’s fine, I’m just so happy to know you’re okay. But, what happened?”

“I… felt a little depressed. Sonic helped me, though.”

“Aw, he’s such a sweetheart. If he’s there with you, could you thank him for me?”

Shadow chuckled. “Rouge says 'thanks’,” he called from the living room, an unnecessary action since Sonic could hear them already.

“Tell her I said 'no problem’,” Sonic called back.

“Sonic says 'no problem’,” Shadow repeated to Rouge.

“Well, I would still like to see you again in person. Would you mind if I came over tomorrow?”

“Not at all.”

“Is one o’ clock a bit too early, or is that fine?”

“It’s fine.”

“Good. Is there anything you want to talk about?”

“At the moment, I should get back to helping Sonic clean my house.”

“He’s helping you clean? He really is a sweetheart. Now get back to helping him, okay?”

“Alright.”

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodbye, Shadow.”

“Goodbye, Rouge.”

Shadow tapped his communicator and walked back into the kitchen, seeing Sonic who had just finished washing the rest of the vases. After setting the final vase among the others on the counter, he walked over to Shadow, noting his improved mood.

“I’m guessing it was nice talking to Rouge again?”

“Yeah. It was.”

Shadow looked to the bouquet on the kitchen table, once again feeling a bit of discomfort.

“Hey,” Sonic said, getting Shadow’s attention back, “I know you don’t want to, but, you can’t keep it forever.” Shadow looked down in sadness. “Shadow, it’ll be alright. I promise. There will always be more to keep you happy.”

Taking a deep breath, Shadow walked up to the table and picked up the bouquet, soon walking over to the trash can. He firmly held onto the flowers by the stems and paused after taking them out and holding them over the trash. Letting out his long held breath, Shadow let the flowers go, their old petals crinkling against the other dead flowers below.

Shadow slowly turned to Sonic, handing him the clear vase. Sonic took it into his hands and walked to the sink, dumping out the murky water and washing the inside to remove the unpleasant smell. Once he was done, he took off the waterproof gloves, set them aside, and turned to Shadow.

He was just leaning against the counter, staring at the empty space on the kitchen table. It was a sad sight to see, and Sonic was going to fix that. Interrupting Shadow’s view for a brief moment, Sonic walked past him and into the living room, grabbing the new bouquet and vase off of the coffee table. He then stepped up to Shadow, holding the bouquet up to him.

“You wanna hold the flowers while I fill the vase?” he asked, receiving a slow nod in response.

Shadow carefully grabbed the flowers by the stems and lifted them out of the vase, watching Sonic bring the vase to the sink and filling it afterward. He looked down at the bouquet in his hand. It was beautiful, vibrant, healthy, and everything you could ever hope to get in a flower arrangement. The sight made him smile. He was happy to have the bouquet, even though he knew it was going to have to be thrown away someday as well.

The sound of a plastic vase being placed on a table was heard, so Shadow looked up, meeting Sonic’s gaze. His gentle smile was reassuring and helped Shadow greatly. Shadow stepped over to the table, took the ribbon off the bouquet, and carefully set the flowers inside the vase. Once that was done, he and Sonic took a step back, taking the whole thing into view.

With the new view, Shadow could truly see the love put into the flowers. It included pink asters and red roses like previous one, but an array of other flowers helped compliment the overall appearance. It was still full of love, even if it wasn’t the same as the one he once had.

Tears began falling from Shadow’s eyes, but the smile he had was still there. He turned to Sonic and pulled him into a tight embrace, soon feeling the comforting caress of his hand on his back.

“Thank you.”

Sonic smiled, continuing to comfort Shadow.

“No problem.”

They ended their embrace, taking a step away and giving each other a calming smile. After a moment of relaxing silence, Sonic spoke up.

“Hey uh, wanna watch some TV or something?” he asked, still wanting to spend time with Shadow.

“Sure,” he replied. Walking over to the couch and grabbing the TV remote.

Sonic sat down next to the center seat, allowing Shadow to sit right across from the TV. As he waited for Shadow to sit with him, he let out a yawn, then looked out the window and saw it was dark out.

“Are you sure you won’t get too exhausted to run if stay here any longer?” Shadow asked, taking the center cushion on the couch.

“I’ll be good if I only stay about an hour. Don’t worry about it.”

“Alright.”

As the night continued on, Sonic started nodding off, something Shadow easily predicted would happen.

“Are you sure you can stay any longer?” Shadow asked with a smirk.

“What, ever. I’ll be, fine…”

Sonic’s words were slow and mumbly. It was very clear how tired he was. 

Shadow let out a half chuckle and laid back, resting his head on a throw pillow. He pulled Sonic on top of him, having him rest his head on his fluffy chest.

“No… Shads… I’ll fall… asleep…”

“Good. It’s better to have you asleep here than outside somewhere because you couldn’t make it home.”

“Shads… I'mmmmmm…” Sonic’s words faded into a tired mumble as he soon fell asleep.

Shadow gently smiled and planted a soft kiss on his head.

“Goodnight, Sonic.”

Letting out a yawn himself, Shadow hit the power button on the TV remote, filling the room with a quiet darkness. As he set the remote on the floor and placed a hand on Sonic’s back, he let out a content sigh.

He didn’t mind Sonic falling asleep at his house, at least not right now. The entire time Sonic was over after dinner, he had been trying not to yawn, but it didn’t work. Shadow could tell Sonic had a long day and felt he deserved to rest with him after everything that happened.

Shadow closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth of Sonic’s presence.

It was nice having Sonic with him, especially after having an eventful evening with him. Just having Sonic with him was comforting, and he was grateful for how much he had helped. So, Shadow was happy to have Sonic with him tonight. He was going to enjoy every second they could be together.

Shadow yawned and allowed the soft, rhythmic breathing of Sonic carry him into sleep.


End file.
